8. What do you judge his views would be as to the merits of Romanticism and Classicism? STYLE AND WORKS 1. What portion of Great Britain is the scene of most of Burns' poems? 2. Were they the product of deliberate art or spontaneous impulse? 3. Have his poems any great influence at the present time? 4. Is his best work in English or in the Scotch dialect? Explain why? 5. Do you consider it worth while to master the difficulties of the dialect? 6. What is your opinion as to the love element in his poetry? 7. There have been but few better interpreters of nature. 8. Like many a Scotchman of his day he seems to have had a full appreciation of the joys of conviviality. 9. Had Burns the element of humor in any marked degree? 10. Compare his songs with those of Shakespeare, Jonson, Byron, Shelley, and Tennyson; for feeling, polish, and power. "THE COTTER'S SATURDAY NIGHT" 1. Is the scene laid in the Highlands or the Lowlands? 2. Does the fact that the poem is written in the Scotch dialect add to or detract from its beauty? The mingling of literary language and dialect is intentional; discuss the value of this. 3. Would you judge Burns to have been at heart a religious man? 4. What comparison does the author draw between Scotch and Italian songs? 5. What contrast is drawn between the worship of the poor and that of the rich? 6. To what does Burns ascribe the grandeur of Scotland? 7. Compare with the "Deserted Village" and the "Elegy in a Country Churchyard," in purpose and in style. Which of the three breathes the greatest moral earnestness? 8. "The Cotter's Saturday Night" is a typical poem of the latter half of the eighteenth century. What other poems of the period resemble it in their treatment of rural life? VI, 94, 106. 9. Does the poem belong to the Age of Classicism or Romanticism or both; in what respects? 10. For other pictures of Scotch life and character see the selections from Barrie, Scott, and Watson. FOR REFERENCE "Life of Robert Burns."--CUNNINGHAM. "Modern Idols; Studies in Biography and Criticism."--THORNE. "Critical and Miscellaneous Essays."--CARLYLE. "The Burns Country."--DOUGALL. "The Ayrshire Homes and Haunts of Burns."--SHELLEY. SIR WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832) Scott first achieved success as a poet; but as his fame began to pale before the rising star of Byron, he wisely dropped verse and appeared as a writer of fiction, in which he was far more successful. Some critics consider "Ivanhoe" the greatest romance ever written. Many of his early novels are of almost equal merit. With "Woodstock" and "Anne of Geierstein," a decline in his powers is perceptible. Scott may be considered the founder of the historical novel, and it is doubtful if he has ever been excelled. His scenes of medieval life are somewhat overdrawn, it is true, though possibly no more so than the requirements of successful fiction demanded.